Money is Scary (Short Story)

All of Me to My Heart

Three best guy friends gather up like they do every 2 weeks to go and play lottery. In this game they all decide to buy the tickets together and if one of them wins they have to separate the money to each other. They are just 3 ordinary guys from the countryside of Florida. The name of the eldest of the 3 best friends is Liam, he is 26 years old, he's the ladies' man out of all 3 of them, he was the one with the idea to play lottery. Then there's 24 year old Mason in which is the sweetest guy of all of them, at first he didn't approved of playing lottery, but his sister April has a tumor, so she has to go through surgery, and is the first time to see her after 9 years. Last, but not least there's Aaron which is the youngest and smartest of all of them, he just turned 24 and he is looking for money so he can go study abroad.

On a Friday night these friends went to buy food and some beer. They went to Liam's house to wait for the announcement of the lottery. They we're so nervous for the announcement. Finally, at 10pm the winner was announced, in which was Mason. He was so happy that he started to cry, because he can finally pay for his sister's surgery. They all were so drunk that they felled asleep. The next morning when Mason woke up he couldn't believe he won; he got a phone call to come pick the money up. He went with his friends; it was 7pm which was already dark. While walking there we're some gamblers that started following them, because they thought they had the money. Liam said to Mason that he was going to get the money instead of Mason. Mason responded fast saying that he has to get his money himself. While they we're running they cross the street and a car came unexpectedly when Mason was crossing the street and gets hit by the car. The gamblers by seeing what happened to Mason they ran off. Liam turns around, sees Mason full in blood and unconscious and starts crying with Aaron. Liam called the lottery place saying that they couldn't go that night that he will go on Friday.

The next day in which was a Tuesday, Liam and Aaron went to Mason funeral. The days passed and it was Friday finally. Liam tells Aaron that he's going to pick up the money like if he was Mason. Aaron said to Liam that it wasn't a good idea, that he is betraying friendship. Liam told Aaron to not worry, because he is going to pay April's surgery. He said to him that she has never seen her brother, because he left his house when he was 15 and she was 13. They haven't meant since then, they have been sending letters to each other.

Later at night, Liam went to get the money. The next day he went to the hospital saying in the front desk that he is going to pay for the patient April's surgery. She was walking by the hall and heard what Liam said. Then she asked Liam, if he was her brother Mason? Liam said to her that indeed he was, she immediately hugged him and told him that she missed him so much.

The doctor told "Mason" that the surgery will take place on Sunday morning that he has to be there for her surgery. Sunday came and April is getting ready for her surgery. 2 hours has passed and Liam is thinking on what to do with his life, does he keeps living as Mason with his lottery money or his normal life as Liam. The doctor then comes out of the surgery room and tells "Mason" that the surgery went well and that they got rid of the stomach tumor.

Then "Mason" went to April's room and she was telling him, that she was so happy that they got rid of the tumor and that she could see her brother again. "Mason" felt bad and tried to tell her, but she kept talking on how wonderful it is to have a brother.

The days passed and "Mason" keeps on visiting April in the hospital. The doctor asks for "Mason", and tells him that April can leave the hospital, because she is fine. "Mason" tells April and she gets all exited. She tells him that she is going to go live with him and he tells her that she has to go to her old house, because it looks weird that a man and a woman live together although they are "siblings". She decides to go live in her old house, but he has to promise to visit her consecutively.

"Mason" and April start to hang a lot of time together and he started to have feelings for her. Liam starts feeling bad about taking Mason's money and lying to April.

One day while April was waiting to get her checkup, to check if she has a tumor. Aaron went to the hospital with Liam, in which he didn't go study abroad, because Liam didn't give him enough money, so he has to wait and see if some money is left from the hospital bills. When April got up to get her checkup, Aaron told Liam that he couldn't keep pretending that he is Mason that sooner or later April was going to find out. Suddenly April came back to get her purse in which she left it in the seat, and she overheard them. She started telling him that did he start to take care of her, because of money. She said to him that she doesn't want to know anything about him and that he should stop looking for her or caring. They both lost communication for a week.

The results of the checkup came and she was diagnosed with a tumor in her heart. The doctor told her that she needs to have the surgery as quickly as possible. The doctor thinking "Mason's" is her guardian calls him, telling him that his sister results came out and she was diagnosed with a tumor in her heart. He was so in shock that he immediately went to her house. He tells her that she needs to get the surgery. She told him that she would do it, but not because he said so, she'll do it for her own health. She said to him that why will he think that she'll do it because of him, because he doesn't care about her. He told her that he did, that he loved her. She told him that what he loved was money in which was scary because it could change a person.

The week passed and she went to the hospital and the doctor told her that because the surgery was in the heart he needed someone to donate it, but he still was going to leave her in the hospital to get treatment until he finds someone who can donate it. The next day, the doctor called April and told her to come in the night, because someone will have to donate a heart. Liam called the hospital to asked if April went to surgery. The doctor told him that she is in the hospital, but he is looking for someone to donate a heart. Liam said to the doctor that he knows someone that could donate the heart.

The next morning the doctor went to April and told her that she can proceed with the surgery, because someone donated a heart for her. She agreed for surgery. She got the surgery and everything turned out just fine. When she was fully conscious she asked him, who donated the heart? So she could thank him. He said to her that, that person left her a letter before the surgery. The letter said "My real name is Liam I was Mason's best friend, the one that impersonated him. All 3 of us made a deal that we will share the lottery money. After your brother died I was so greedy that I took all the money for myself, after I paid your surgery with his lottery money. I was an orphan and I was shown to love money, in which it could be really scary like you said. Money shouldn't be loved, what should be love is people close to someone. In which I learned that from you, I learned to love someone and to care about someone. I felt something towards you, that's why I felt bad for my wrong doing and had to give you something that once was mine... my heart." "Hope you treasure it just like I was treasuring you."